The Galaxy S5 smartphone is now on sale so Samsung's next big handset launch will be the Galaxy Note 4. Here we look at the rumours surrounding the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 release date, price and specs, including rumours that it could be unveiled at a Samsung Unpacked launch prior to IFA 2014.

Ok, Samsung hasn't mentioned the Galaxy Note 4 by name but it's not hard to work out what the next model will be called. So far, the Korean smartphone giant has only referred to it as the next or new Galaxy Note.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4: Release date

Previous versions of the Galaxy Note have been released in and around September and it looks like the Galaxy Note 4 will be no different. Indeed, industry insiders have suggested the Note 4 will be unveiled at a pre-IFA 2014 Samsung Unpacked event on 3 September, with invitations expected to go out in August.

Yoon Han-kil, senior vice president of Samsung's product strategy team, told Reuters that the firm is planning to launch a new Galaxy Note handset with a "new form factor" in the second half of the year.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4: Price

There's no leaked information on the Galaxy Note 4 yet and that's not too surprising since we're a few months away from its expected launch. We'll bring you any information as and when we hear it but in our expert opinion it is likely to come in between £550 and £600 – similar to the Galaxy S5.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4: Specs

The Galaxy Note series is deliberately big, what we would regrettably call a phablet. The Galaxy Note 3 stands at 5.7in and that's bigger than the Galaxy Note 2's 5.5in display. Well the Galaxy Note 4 is going to reportedly continue that trend with an even bigger screen – perhaps 5.9in or even 6in matching the LG G Flex.

As you would expect, the device will come with Samsung's S Pen stylus and will be powered by Android's Google'sAndroid operating system. It is rumoured that the device will be able to recognise personal handwriting to unlock it and perform functions like calling contacts.

By September we could well have a new version, 4.5 or maybe 5.0 codenamed 'Lolipop' so the hope is that the Galaxy Note 4 will come with the latest software.

Under the hood, the Galaxy Note 4 will supposedly wield the recently announced Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor. That's a quad-core Krait 450 chip which can be clocked up to 2.7GHz and has an Andreno 420 GPU.

Qualcomm calls it the 'Ultra HD' processor because it supports 4K resolution (aka Ultra HD) capture and playback. Potentially then, the Galaxy Note 4 could be the first smartphone with a 4K screen. However, the firm could opt for Quad HD instead which is what the LG G3 is expected to feature. Samsung is working on both Quad HD and Ultra HD displays for smartphones.

Another titbit about the screen is the possibility it will be three-sided so messages can be read from an angle. That's hard to imagine but sounds interesting and is what Lee Young Hee, executive vice president of mobile at Samsung, told Bloomberg.

Like the Galaxy S5, the Galaxy Note 4 is thought to be coming with a dust- and waterproof design. It's something we're seeing more of after Sony made it an almost standard feature for higher end devices like the Xperia Z1 Compact.

Keep an eye on this article over the coming weeks and months for updates, but for now let us know your thoughts on the Galaxy Note 4 in the comments section below.